Each year, the Troupe selects a New York City charity as the principal object of its philanthropy, seeking to have the greatest charitable impact with the funds it raises through its performances.

[4] For more than a century, the Troupe has also served as a social outlet for its hundreds of members, who volunteer their time and talents towards its theatrical and charitable activities.

[6] A musically talented friend who was staying with them, Elsie Goddard,[7] suggested recruiting their children and neighboring summer residents to perform Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S.

After several weeks of rehearsal, with Goddard directing,[8] the show took place that August on the deck of the Millikens' 103-foot schooner, Shawna, moored offshore.

[6][9] Smaller boats delivered Sir Joseph with his sisters, cousins and aunts, to the Pinafore, and floating docks held brave musicians who battled rising winds and waves sloshing over their feet including, precariously, Mrs. Walter Sullivan at the piano.

[9][10] The audience sat on the shore, the stone porches of the boathouse and the docks of the local yacht club as darkness fell, with a full moon, various spotlights and car headlights illuminating the show.

[3] The following spring of 1926, the Troupe moved to New York City where, at the Millikens' Upper East Side house, it presented The Pirates of Penzance.

The Gondoliers followed the next year, with performances in both Manhattan and Maine, and since then the Troupe has been based in New York City,[9] with a mission to raise money for charity.

[12] In 1952 the company filed a Certificate of Incorporation in New York State; its "Purpose" clause, written in Gilbertian verse, begins:One Gilbert and one Sullivan have lured us all together, To sing their songs and say their lines and talk about the weather.

[9] A New York Times critic, Theodore W. Libbey Jr., called the Troupe's Iolanthe "flawless from a technical standpoint and showed polish on all levels.

[29] Tim Page, writing in The New York Times, commented that a Troupe production of Princess Ida showed "a remarkable flair for the impeccably proper lunacy that is the soul of the Savoy operas.

[1] The Troupe seeks to have the greatest charitable impact with the funds it raises through its performances; charities to which the group donates have often included hospitals, and others that focus on healthcare, education, the arts, disadvantaged youth and families, and the elderly.

[10][9] Not everyone who joins the Troupe has a desire to perform onstage: some apply for membership as "frontstagers" and must pass musical auditions, while others may be admitted through an interview as dedicated "backstagers".

[40] Members often stay involved with the Troupe for decades, and over 100 couples have met and married through the company:[38][33] Debutante Lois Lindon Smith joined in 1931 and soon married navy officer John Jay Schieffelin (later a Rear Admiral);[45] they were both active lifelong members, and her membership lasted for 74 years until her death in 2007.